Get the Poop on Why Effective Marketing Feeds Your Business and Spits Out More Income

images 1 Get the Poop on Why Effective Marketing Feeds Your Business and Spits Out More Income

It will kill your business!

The old adage, “You are what you eat” has great truth, even in terms of your business. When you eat properly, all goes well, and when you eat what’s easy like fries, cookies and burgers, it catches up with you. The same goes for your business. If you aren’t selective about your customers, and invite “whoever is available” into your office or store, your business won’t get the nourishment it deserves, and you can bet you won’t see the results you want either.

Here’s why:  Every business has a specific client profile that proves to be much more profitable for that particular business than “anybody” else. This concept goes against logic. We think, “Everybody needs my expertise. I can help anyone!” But are you sure of that? And even if you think everyone needs your help, do they really want it? [Read more...]

How to Choose a Marketing Coach You Can Trust

images How to Choose a Marketing Coach You Can TrustChoosing a marketing coach you can trust starts with knowing what marketing is meant to do. Are you one of the elite few who can explain how marketing fits into your business? Most business owners paste it onto their business plan as an afterthought and suffer the consequences. The rise of social media, and the complexity of Adwords and other forms of tech related marketing are confusing and frustrating, and often leave an expensive marketing aftertaste in the mouths of many business owners.

Differentiating what good marketing is meant to do vs the many methods used to apply it is one way to test the waters when choosing a marketing coach you can trust. Marketing specialists like to speak in terms of results, but too often, they focus on technique and not content. It’s NOT their tech skills that matter, [Read more...]

How to Increase Sales and Attract Customers Who Desperately Want What You Sell

Attracting eager customers is a matter of narrowing your marketing message to the right group of people. Even if you have many types of customers, they all have one thing in common: the solutions your business offers for the problems they have.

To identify the type of customers who really need what you sell and who want to buy your products, you must stop and reflect on (or better yet, write down) the specific descriptions that answer these three questions

[Read more...]

Why Solving Customer Problems Makes Selling Easy and Makes You a Hero.

images Why Solving Customer Problems Makes Selling Easy and Makes You a Hero.Solving problems for customers is exactly what businesses are meant to do. “Obviously!” you say?  Yes, and no.

The truth is that most customers  can’t identify their own problem, and this is where the greatest opportunity lies. Unfortunately, many sales people and business owners miss the opportunity by attempting to sell whatever they have on hand and make it “fit.”

So the customer spends money on a product without knowing if it’s going to solve their problem. That’s not good for them, or for your business. I call this a “dead end” sale because when the product doesn’t solve the problem, the customer doesn’t return to buy again.

Solving problems is very different from putting a product in the hands of a customer and telling them “This is our best seller.” Customers can be influenced to buy based on social proof, but that doesn’t mean that they will be satisfied with their purchase.

Let’s say you want to buy a new car. You’ve narrowed it down to  a particular make and model and drive to the dealership. A salesman greets you and immediately says,” Let me show you our newest models.” How would you react? Do you want to see their newest models? Do you feel as though this guy has your best interests in mind?

Now imagine a second salesman who says, “I’d like to help you find the car that’s right for you.” How does that feel? Which salesman would you rather work with? Which approach invites your participation and allows you to express your needs?

The point I’m making is that selling is a process that requires an exchange of information. If you really want to help a customer find the best solution, you need to stand in their shoes and see it through their eyes. Your assumptions about a customer’s needs and the true reason they’re motivated to buy are usually two different things. The easiest way for you to male the sale is to find out the real reason they want to buy – something I call their “buying motivation.”

Selling conversations allow you to dig deeper and get to the real issue where emotions are attached to the outcome, and the right solution will solve the frustration that brought them to your store or website in the first place. That friction or frustration is their buying motivation. And that’s why you need to “meet customers where they are.”

Their primary motivation for buying is always based in emotion, not facts:

  • Do they want to impress their neighbors?
  • Are they worried about saving money on gas and maintenance?
  • Do they dread an hour commute, and want a smooth, quiet ride with excellent safety features?

Let them do the talking and listen for the things that matter most. That’s how you learn to speak their language — That is, help them put into words a solution that fixes their problem. It’s almost like translating, yet a good sales person understands that customers need help identifying their needs and desires. Learning to do this well will make you a hero to your customers.

Whether it’s a car, a set of custom-built shelves, or a retirement plan, your customer feels a specific need or emotion that motivates them to take action. That means you need to find out what’s going on under the surface. That’s where you need to meet them — At the place that matters most to them. When you discover this “sweet spot” the customer will suddenly treat you as their confidante. They’ll feel like you’re on their team.

When a customer feels understood, it creates a sense of trust and a connection that makes the sale a “no brainer.”  I call this a “win/win” sale. You’re customer is satisfied, and you’ve made a loyal client who will happily buy from you over and over because they appreciate your insights and knowledge. (What they don’t know is that all you did was listen carefully and repeat back to the customer what they needed and why. Then you offered them the best solution.)

Simple!

Want some help making your selling conversations produce “no brainer” sales? I’d love to trouble shoot with you on a 20-30 minute FREE introductory call. There’s no obligation. I’ll help you to identify obstacles in your business that might be easy to fix,  so why not find out?  You can sign up for your complimentary “Marketing Makeover” session at this link  https://my.timedriver.com/CM1LC and  fill in a time slot that works for you. I’ll give you a call back at the time you choose.

Talk with you soon!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721  cell EST
www.rightmindmarketing.com

 

 

 

 

 

 Why Solving Customer Problems Makes Selling Easy and Makes You a Hero.

How to Increase Sales Without Spending a Penny More on Advertising

Wouldn’t it be grand to have customers walk through your door, ready to buy and you don’t need  to say a word? Well, I don’t believe in fantasies, but I can guarantee that you will close more sales when you know these two things about your customers:

images 4 How to Increase Sales Without Spending a Penny More on Advertising

Making Sales = Helping

1.  What products they need and why. (Your niche market)

2. What specific problems they have that you can solve.

Here’s what doesn’t produce sales: Selling to everyone. To make sales you need to find the people with the problems your product can solve and then get to know them — how they think, what they care about, and what makes them happy, sad or frustrated. Targeted, quality customers are worth finding if you want to increase your sales without increasing costs.

So tell me, how well do you know your customers?  Do you know what your customers worry about? Can you guess their thoughts, feel what they feel, and  imagine what  keeps them up at night?

If you haven’t thought about it, then think again. The ability to anticipate needs is at the core of selling for all types of businesses, and especially if a website is the hub of your business.  Your “web-store” needs to send out specific, clear offers to the people you want to attract and invite to buy.

With e-commerce it’s not enough to simply put up a website and tell people what’s for sale. They need to be invited in with offers, questions, or gifts that push their “want” buttons. Your product descriptions need to offer an enticing solution for your customers — whether you’re a lemonade stand or a Fortune 500 company.

If you don’t know what your customers want, then how do you connect with them?  And if you don’t know what their problems are, then how do you sell them what they need?  My point is, you won’t make sales if you don’t target the people who want what you’re selling. That can be a difficult thing to figure out, but it’s worth the time and effort.

Why so much emphasis on identifying a group of customers with specific needs? Because if you don’t, you’ll spend most of your time “sorting” eager customers from merely interested ones. The first type are ready to buy your products. The second type are just curious and won’t buy. So why waste your time? You can’t help everybody, (the ones who are merely interested) so why not focus on the people who actually need your products and are ready to buy?

My Free Report is designed to help you to do exactly that. So look on my home page at www.RightMindMarketing.com and get your free “Sales Action Guide” by filling in the opt in form (No sharing of course!) so you can begin using effective, selling techniques in your own business. No gimmicks or yukky stuff. I promise.

Selling can actually be a lot of fun when it’s about identifying exactly what people need, and then providing a product that’s the perfect solution.

The better you know your customers, the easier it is to sell them what they need most. More on that in my next post!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721 cell
www.Rightmindmarketing.com

P.S.- If you want to get some help right now, call me for a Free “Selling Makeover Session” and we can talk about your business for 20-30 minutes. You can choose a time for us to connect by going to this link https://my.timedriver.com/CM1LC  and I’ll give you a call back to see how I can help make changes to your business that will increase your sales.

 

 How to Increase Sales Without Spending a Penny More on Advertising

Does Your Website Make an Irresistible Offer or Just Mumble?

images Does Your Website Make an Irresistible Offer or Just Mumble?

Engage Your Customers

Whether you’re selling products or services, your website may be the first place you make an offer  to the customers you attract. It’s your virtual storefront, and first impressions (All 5 seconds that you get on average.) are crucial.

What impression does your business make? Is your website organized, easy to navigate, and fun to read? Does it make an articulate, irresistible offer, or does is mumble something vague and unmemorable?

Think of the Internet as a crowded party. You finally see someone who catches your interest. Your first thought might be, “Hmm, very attractive,” but if you don’t connect with their conversation, how long would your stick around? Surely you have better things to do!

That’s how customers respond to your website. It may look really cool or attractive, but they won’t stick around unless they can identify with your message and what you have to offer. Their focus is on their needs: How does this business meet my needs, solve my problem, or increase my joy?

If your website copy doesn’t speak to their needs , you’ve lost them.

Your website should reward their online search with the promise of a real answer or solution. That’s what a good business provides –whether it’s consumer information, a pie recipe, or the best price on light bulbs, your customers need to know how your products solve their problem. Otherwise they’ll find a website where they feel understood and make their purchase there.

Do you know if your website “speaks?” Do you have an irresistible offer? If you aren’t sure, you may be losing out on sales simply because you aren’t engaging your market using effective, direct-response marketing techniques on your website.

Even though your storefront is web-based the “party principle” still applies: “meet, greet, and stay in touch.”  Your business “meets” with ads, “greets” with your website, and stays in touch by email autoresponders.  It’s always about how you engage your customers – every step of the way!

So if the copy on your website doesn’t break the ice and attract customers into your store, do something about it! Speak up and stop mumbling. The life of your business depends on it!

Need some help? I offer 20-minute, FREE website consultations for new customers. We’ll find 3 things you can do to improve your website’s “engagement factor,” and discuss simple ways to make the changes. You can schedule your call with me by choosing a time slot here http://bit.ly/nyTn18 and I’ll give you a call back. I look forward to speaking with you, and I promise not to mumble icon wink Does Your Website Make an Irresistible Offer or Just Mumble?

Make your next sale valuable!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721 cell
Skype: Betsysnyc

http://www.RightMindMarketing.com

 

 Does Your Website Make an Irresistible Offer or Just Mumble?

How to Enjoy Selling (Even If You Hate It Now!)

 

fear 150x150 How to Enjoy Selling (Even If You Hate It Now!)

You can do it!

“Enjoy Selling?” Most people would say that’s a contradiction in terms. In fact, for most people, selling is a necessary evil needed to bridge the chasm between the products their business offers, and the customers who want to buy them.

I’ll bet you wish you knew how to get your products seen by people who could really benefit from them…. Maybe you even know of similar products that are selling like hotcakes, but yours are not.

You may have tried using social media or other online sales venues with no results – except for a big headache! Or worse, you paid someone else a lot of money to market your products for you, but they didn’t produce the returns you’d hoped for.

I know how frustrating it can be, and it becomes tempting to just throw ideas out there, hoping something will stick, (Also known as “hit-or-miss” marketing.) which can get very expensive.

Geez, no wonder marketing and sales leave a bitter taste in mouth of the average business owner. Besides, who can afford to advertise when you have bills to pay, and you don’t even know if you’ll get results. It’s at this point that most businesses cut their losses and simply give up….

But what if I told you that there’s another approach to selling that could change all of that? It lets you increase your Income — AND turn around your attitude about selling, AND it’s very simple. It makes what seems frustrating and confusing almost common sense.

Here’s how (In 3 easy steps) -

1. Keep it simple! Selling doesn’t need to be complicated or difficult. In fact, the simpler you keep it, the better it works. So you can skip the fancy marketing plan, flashy website, and slick sales pitch. Forget the full-page ads. Instead start to think of selling as a series of steps to educate your potential customers until they are ready to buy your products.

2. Educated customers are eager customers. Selling is actually a set of steps that you can orchestrate. What you’re actually doing is helping your potential customers make an educated decision. The more a customer knows about you and your products, the more likely they are to buy from you. Buying is a choice, so help your customers make the choice that’s right for them.

3. It’s easy to sell a valuable solution. When customers believe your product is “just what they need,” the sale is a “no brainer.” It’s the smart business owner who takes time to find out who needs what they sell. When you know who has the problems your products solve, then you can focus on marketing to that one niche market.

When you sell valuable products to eager customers in a niche market, suddenly selling becomes a pleasure. That’s why I use the Value Marketing approach to sales. It switches your focus from “What can I sell?” to “Who can I help?”

The more people you help, the more sales you make and the more money you put in the bank. Now that sounds pretty enjoyable, doesn’t it?

So, if you’re ready to start making sales, and feel good about doing it, I’d like to offer you a Free 20-minute phone session to hear about your business and help you get past your selling obstacles. I’ll help you identify three things you need to change to get moving again, and how to fix the roadblocks in your way.

So sign up for your free consultation, visit my coaching schedule and put your name and number in a time slot so I can call you back. There’s no obligation. My goal is to help you to make a real breakthrough with your business in just one conversation.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to read more about how Value Marketing can help you to increase sales, pick up a copy of my Free Report “3 Simple Ways to Increase Sales,” visit my home page and fill out the form in the right column.

I look forward to talking with you soon!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721 Cell EST

Betsy@RightMindMarketing.com

 How to Enjoy Selling (Even If You Hate It Now!)

Break through “Fear of Selling” With Four Simple Steps That Make Selling Faster, Easier, and Less Stressful, Even if You Hate Sales

awan+putih+berubah+jadi+hitam 1 Break through Fear of Selling With Four Simple Steps That Make Selling Faster, Easier, and Less Stressful, Even if You Hate Sales

Find the "Silver Lining" behind Your Selling Fears

 

Why do most people generally hate selling?
Well, let’s find out if the word “SALES” conjures up any of these images in your mind:

  • Experiencing rejection over and over
  • Making endless calls to total strangers
  • Feeling like a pest when you interrupt the people you call
  • Connecting with an enthusiastic client, but they don’t buy
  • Getting tongue-tied when a client does call you back

Any one of these is enough to make a normal, self-respecting person feel uncomfortable about sales. After all, they suggest that you have to develop a tough skin and that rejection is part of doing business. Plus everyone knows selling is a numbers game and that’s simply the way it is, so you’d better get used to it!!

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. NONE of that is what selling needs to be, and it’s not what I mean by “sales” or “selling.” Aren’t you relieved? Wouldn’t it feel wonderful to take all of that garbage, stuff it in a bag and throw it out the window? So let’s do it!

Ahhh…. Doesn’t that feel great!? Now, let’s start over.

To be honest, traditional sales tactics really puzzle me. I know there’s a lot of psychology behind it, yet it seems to ignore the fact that people buy from people they know, and until they’re ready, they are not really customers. Hey, would you buy from someone you don’t know?

So let’s start there: The best thing you can do is to get to know your customers. All customers have a buying pattern.  It starts with discovery, then recognition, and then several more steps before they actually make the purchase, when they are ready.

The purpose of selling is to actually prepare the customer to buy. In it’s purest form, selling is simply education for the consumer, plus a few choice words to influence them to buy the product that solves their problem the best, the fastest, or the most easily. This rarely happens the first time around, so to get results, it helps to see that selling has a pattern too, and it’s all about building relationships.

Here’s how it goes:

1.    Date with a purpose. Find out why people show interest in your products. Ask questions until you have a clear picture of what attracted them, what they need and how you can best help them. If you don’t know, you’ll waste a ton of time and money trying to sell your products to the wrong group of people – Kinda like dating the wrong person.

Tip – Targeting your market saves you time, money and rejection.

2.    Be helpful. You won’t sell much if your business isn’t solving anyone’s problems. You may think your product is awesome, but if it’s not useful to your customers it’s a dead end. What you sell has to help the buyer. They might be “cutting edge,” but if your products don’t solve your customer’s problems, they won’t hang around to buy from you. What you sell has to be valuable to them.
 
Tip – This is the essence of Value Marketing. Your products must have value for the customer.

3.    Make them feel welcome. Let your customers get familiar with your products before they buy. Consider a car showroom where people admire and touch cars and then take them on a test drive. Provide a freebee, or a week trial. This builds trust, helps them to feel connected to what you’re selling, and deepens your relationship with the consumer.
 
Tip – Offer your product to customers in a way that makes buying interactive or fun.
 
4.   Give customers the chance to “start out small” before committing to a larger purchase. Selling is a process of wooing customers by letting them get to know you and your products, and then negotiating a purchase price. You close the sale when you agree on a cost for value (price) that makes both sides happy. The more ways you can arrive at this agreement, the more sales you will make.

Tip –  Multiple price points lead to more sales.

 

As you fine-tune these four steps, you’ll discover which products are the best fit for your clients and they’ll return to buy from you again and again. If you don’t, they will find someone else, and buy from them instead.

These steps are all about communicating. They will dramatically increase your sales and remove that little black cloud hovering over your head.  Won’t that be nice?  I’d love to show you how to put all four steps in place, exactly as they apply to your business products and services, so you can make more sales quickly and easily and bring out the silver lining in your business!

If you’ve read this far, you could probably use some help.  So why don’t we connect for a free 20-30 minute consultation, and discuss what’s not working with your business and how I can help you to increase your sales.

You can visit this link http://bit.ly/nyTn18 that takes you to my personal coaching schedule where you can put your name in a time slot, and then I’ll give you a call so we can talk about your business and get things rolling. Remember, this is free advice, so take advantage of it!

I look forward to talking to you soon!
Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721
www.RightMindMarketing.com

How to Attract 10 Eager Customers to Your Business in Less Than 30 Days Using This Simple Marketing System

images1 How to Attract 10 Eager Customers to Your Business in Less Than 30 Days Using This Simple Marketing System

Does this look like your marketing?

How much time do you waste talking to customers who can’t decide whether or not they want buy your products? Frustrating isn’t it? Do you often ask yourself, “Where are the customers who will buy what I sell, and why are they so hard to find?”

If your customers seem to be “hiding” it sounds to me like you don’t have a well-defined marketing plan. If you did, you’d be attracting the kind of buyers who already want to buy what you’re selling.

Attracting eager customers requires delivering a clear marketing message that identifies exactly what problems your products can solve.

Customers want to solve their problems (not buy your products) so your goal is to put your products in front of the people whose problems they actually solve and say, “Hey, this will help you to… ‘Attract 10 Eager Customers to Your Business in Less Than 30 days!’”  That is why you clicked on this blog post, isn’t it?

In other words, make it about them, not about your product.

The biggest, loudest advertisement doesn’t attract targeted buyers. It brings in everybody, and then you’re left trying to figure out who wants to buy. Is that how you want to spend your time?

The simpler approach is to ask yourself exactly who your business will help the most and why. The business owner who says, “Anyone can benefit from my products and services,” is very unfortunate indeed. They have no idea who their ideal client is, and their marketing will attract unsure and uninformed customers. So get specific.

Let’s say you’re selling an awesome new sunscreen product. You decide you want to help 2 groups of people: retired people who live near the beach, and young people who love water sports. That’s an improvement, but just who do you want to help the MOST? Now write a marketing message that speaks to a member of that one specific group. Make it personal, helpful, and solve their specific problem!  “Wet or dry, SHADE sunscreen never lets you fry.” (My very quick attempt! I’m sure you can do better icon wink How to Attract 10 Eager Customers to Your Business in Less Than 30 Days Using This Simple Marketing System

When you know the people you’re aiming for, it’s much easier to hit the target and score big points. That’s how the Value Marketing System works. The method is simple and direct, and allows you to recognize who your buyers are and who they are not. You’ll learn to recognize in one conversation whether your product is a “fit” or not.

And like any system, it allows you to improve and refine your aim and speed over time. The more you practice the better you get. Instead of wasting time with undecided tire-kickers, you’ll be learning how to satisfy the needs of your buying customers with even better products, or faster delivery, or an easier payment plan.

The better you satisfy the needs of the your clients, the more consistently they will buy from you.That’s a totally different way to make sales, and it’s much more satisfying for your customers – not to mention simpler and more profitable for you.

Value Marketing allows you to get specific because it focuses on exactly how your business helps your customers:  What problem you solve, how your products improve their lives, why they choose to buy them instead of other brands.

Getting specific means focusing and making a decision to cut away the parts of your marketing plan that don’t help you to make sales. Are you ready to discover your niche market (the people your business can help the most), focus your marketing message, and see your sales increase in less than 30 days?

That’s what I help people to do. I start with a Free 20-minute phone call to discuss exactly what needs fixing with your business, how you can change it, and what I can do to help you. My goal is to help you to identify three things that will increase your sales, now – in just 20 minutes. It’s your chance to get a free “Marketing Makeover,” specifically for your business.

You can sign up at this link http://bit.ly/nyTn18, and choose a convenient time slot and I’ll give you a call back. It’s that simple. That’s my motto. Marketing should be simple, effective and profitable.

 

Make your next sale valuable!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721  EST
www.RightMindMarketing.com

Discover the Mental Shift That Makes Selling Your Products the Roaring Engine of Your Marketing Machine — Even If You Don’t Have a Marketing Plan.

images Discover the Mental Shift That Makes Selling Your Products the Roaring Engine of Your Marketing Machine    Even If You Don’t Have a Marketing Plan.

Make your sales engine roar!

Imagine having so many customers that you can barely keep up with the demand for your products and services. Better yet, imagine attracting clients who are ready to pay for exactly what you sell, and then spread the word for you!

Now compare that to where your business is right now…. Need I say more? The good news is that it doesn’t need to take a lot of time or money to turn your business around, once you learn the very common sense method I’m going to describe.

It’s so sensible you may have the same reaction I did: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

But I had to be shown how to do it, step-by-step, by a top marketing coach who revealed the subtleties of how to provide what my customers need most. I’d like to share with you exactly what I learned from him so you can apply this simple shift of perspective to your own business.

Here’s why this method works: Because it places the focus on the people you serve with your business – namely your customers – rather than on the product you’re selling. All you need to do is shift your focus from what you’re selling, to who’s buying it. Your marketing plan will materialize when you identify how your products solve problems for your customers.

Think about that one. Do you know what your customers’ problems actually are?  This is how you find out: Talk to them. Then build your business around providing the kind of products that solve these problems.

Customer research, at a personal level, is the fuel that allows your marketing motor to spring into action. And that’s actually the fun part. It means communicating (starting conversations) with potential customers in a variety of ways, such as—

  • Asking questions
  • Doing a survey
  • Writing a short questionnaire or quiz
  • Posting a blog and asking for comments
  • Posting a video and asking for comments

Your goal is to find out what bugs them, frustrates them, or keeps them up at night. The more insights your gather the easier it is to figure out the best way to help them.

Customers love to feel understood, so the more you know about them, the more fuel you have in your tank. It’s as simple as chatting with your next-door-neighbor. Simply ask them, “So, how are you doing?” — Really!

And while I’m on the topic, I’d love to know more about the things that you need some help with. I’ll be doing a seminar this fall, based on what YOU really want to change in your business. So if you’d kindly take this short survey, that will help me to help  YOU. Here’s the link =>http://svy.mk/qp2VOV  Here’s why getting up close and personal with your customers makes all the difference:

1. You’ll be able to figure out who you can help the most. (Identify your target market)

2. You can offer products that sell easily because they satisfy specific client needs. (No more guessing!)

3. You’ll create happy customers, and even huge fans because they value your products so much that they’ll tell other people about them.

So the bottom line is this: When you know your customers, you can deliver real value. That is, you can sell your customers the product that’s right for THEM because it solves their specific problem.

So why not give it a try? I’d be glad to give you a hand.

Otherwise you can keep doing what you’ve been doing and wonder why you’ve never built a following for your business. Is that really what you want? I doubt it, or you wouldn’t be reading this. Trust me, I’m not going to sell you a fancy marketing package. Honest!

I do offer a FREE 20-30 minute consultation to to help you figure out where you need the most help with your business. I call it my “Marketing Makeover Session”  and If you visit this site http://bit.ly/nyTn18, and put your name and number in a time slot, I’ll give you a call back so we can figure out what you need to change and how to change it. Sound good?

I look forward to helping you rev up your marketing engine real soon!

Betsy

Betsy Shulman
646 306 4721  EST
www.RightMindMarkweting.com

 

 

 

 

 Discover the Mental Shift That Makes Selling Your Products the Roaring Engine of Your Marketing Machine    Even If You Don’t Have a Marketing Plan.